American Airlines blames Boeing for reduced international flights next year.
The US airline will make slightly less international travel next year, saying it won't have the planes it needs to do so. The carrier said it will postpone a number of new routes because Boeing is filling jetliner orders slower than expected, the travel industry news site first reported The Points Guy and then from Quartz.
The US aerospace giant is in fact grappling with multiple internal problems, the latest being the maxi seven-week machinists' strike which interrupted production. The strike has cost Boeing about $50 million a day, according to Bank of America analyst Ron Epstein, for a total so far of $2.7 billion, notes the Financial Times. Therefore delays on aircraft deliveries have been very common.
“Due to continued delays in Boeing 787 delivery, American is adjusting service on select routes in spring 2025 to ensure we can reaccommodate customers on affected flights,” American said in a statement provided to Quartz. “We will proactively contact our affected customers to offer alternative travel solutions and remain committed to mitigating the impact of these Boeing delays by continuing to offer a comprehensive global network.” Meanwhile, Boeing itself has announced that it is ready to invest 1 billion dollars to increase production of the 787 Dreamliner.
Meanwhile, American Airlines today suspended all of its U.S. flights due to an unspecified technical issue, according to the company and a regulatory notice, disrupting the travel plans of thousands of passengers departing on Christmas Eve. reports Reuters.
All the details.
AMERICAN AIRLINES SUSPENDS DOMESTIC FLIGHTS ON CHRISTMAS EVE
Today the company did not explain why it suspended all domestic flights. Numerous passengers posted on social media that their flights were stuck on the tarmac at various airports.
“There is no time estimate available, but they are trying to resolve the issue as quickly as possible,” American Airlines said in a post on X, responding to a question from a passenger stuck at the gate.
As he remembers Reutersthe grounding comes months after airlines were hit by a global technology outage linked to Microsoft's Azure cloud platform and a software issue at cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.
AMERICAN AIRLINES INTERNATIONAL PLANS FOR 2025
Returning instead to the rescheduling of the American airline's international flights for next year, Quartz recall that American Airlines is one of Boeing's largest customers waiting for 787 deliveries. Of the 785 back orders for the plane listed on the plane maker's website, American is waiting for 25.
Because the planes are wider than Boeing's popular 737 Max planes, they are most in demand for airlines that fly many long-haul international services. The company clarified that it has not canceled any routes due to these delivery delays, but has suspended them or will suspend them soon. These suspended flights will resume later than expected.
THE REVISED ROUTES
Specifically, American Airlines' Chicago-Paris route has been suspended since September. While the airline had initially predicted the route would resume in April 2025, that month was changed to May. Just as the Miami-Paris route will be suspended starting from May, without a clear timetable for resumption. Additionally, the Miami-Bueno Aires route also currently has three daily flights. But starting in April, there will only be two available for travelers.
BOEING'S ARRANGES
According to Boeing's website, there are 785 airplanes yet to be delivered for the 787. As previously mentioned American has 25 787-9 airplanes yet to receive. United Airlines, Riyadh Air and Lufthansa are three airlines with another 787 on standby, he explains SimpleFlying.
THE MOVES OF THE AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURER
For its part, Boeing only recently restarted production after long delays due to quality problems and the strike that began on September 13 by 33,000 machinists.
The aircraft manufacturer announced last week that it would invest $1 billion in South Carolina to boost production of its 787 Dreamliner planes. Specifically, the company will expand its facilities in Charleston County to support increased production goals for its long-range 787 Dreamliner. It plans to increase production to 10 Dreamliner planes per month by 2026.
The investment will be accompanied by the creation of 500 new jobs over five years. The plane maker announced Dec. 17 that it had resumed production of the 737 at its Renton plant in the Seattle area. This will be followed by the 777, 777X and 767 in Everett, in the same region. At the end of November the order backlog amounted to 6,268 aircraft.
